BANGKOK (Thailand) - Scottie Lewis powered the third-quarter turnaround to lead Johor past Dewa United Banten, 83-70, for their second win in the BCL Asia-East 2026 at the Nimibutr Stadium, Thursday evening.
The high-flying wing scored 13 of his 28 points in the said period, outscoring their counterparts by his lonesome as he led their 29-10 barrage to turn a nine-point halftime deficit to a 79-69 lead entering the final frame.
Never would the Malaysian representatives look back from there, even leading by as many as 16 points to eventually become the only team thus far to beat the Indonesian Basketball League outfit twice.
And they've done so in successive fashion as well to send the once 3-0 side skidding, in the process improving their chances of at least climbing up the Group A standings as they hiked their record to 2-3.
"I'm very excited to have won twice over them," said Coach Yong Ann Kian, visibly overwhelmed to have gone back-to-back versus Dewa United. "We hope in the next game, we can still have the same quality."
That's big thanks to Lewis, who shot 50-percent from the floor, including an excellent 3-of-4 clip from deep, and also collected a rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks to finish with an efficiency of 25.
But the others made sure to contribute significantly, too, with Chee Wei Lim coming through with 12 points, half of which he made from beyond the arc. Ting Chun Hong also came off the bench and scored 11 points.
New acquisition Marcus Lee, picked up by the team just days prior to the Bangkok leg of the pan-regional contest, turned in a commendable debut with 10 points and 13 rebounds, plus 4 assists, 4 steals, and a block.
"It definitely feels good beating any team twice in a row," said the 26-year-old Lewis. "Obviously, we have a lot of respect for them. We know their history of winning championships, and having a winning history."
"It's good to come out and win against a great team like that. I think we were just prepared," he added.
The Southern Tigers will look to conclude their Group Phase campaign with a bang when they lock horns with hosts Hi-Tech Basketball Club on Saturday, May 2, at 18:00 local time in the final game of Group A.
Wasted by the loss, on the other hand, was the monster outing of Joshua Ibarra, in which he finished with 27 points and 21 rebounds to lead Dewa United, which fell to 3-2 but remained on top of the pool.
Troy Gillenwater backed him up with 17 points. Dio Saputra made 11 points while DJ Cooper added 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 13 assists in the defeat, where they failed to protect a lead as big as 11 points.
Dewa United will look to bounce back and clinch the top seed against Hi-Tech tomorrow night.
FIBA